ChapterFive
1531 Words
Her heart was pounding. She could have sworn she felt herself sink the moment he asked her what she was holding.
“I—” she said, laughing nervously now, “Mr Gianni. Wh-what are you doing here?”
Theo frowned deeply as he glanced at his watch: “You were supposed to report to me an hour ago.” Her eyes swept around the room; her nose twitched at the smell of damp. “It seems I was right to say that you spend your time here. Is this what you’re paid for, Miss Hempstead?”
Honestly, it was only her second day and she wasn’t anywhere near getting paid any time soon. Even so, she swallowed hard and tried to defuse the situation as best she could: “The shredder wasn’t… it wasn’t very efficient, sir.”
“And you didn’t contact procurement because…”
“I didn’t know what to do.”
“So you chose laziness over returning to your post.”
She hung her head. “I’m sorry, sir.”
“Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”
“Very ashamed, sir.”
“You should be.”
“I know.”
She grimaced. It seemed that nothing she did could please him, almost as if her mere presence were irritating. How could a man who barely knew her hate her so much?
Even so, his resemblance to her wasn’t that important. She’d just stumbled upon some crucial information—information that could be detrimental to her job if he discovered what she had in her possession.
“Return to your desk, Miss Hempstead,” he said, glancing at his watch again—he seemed to do that frequently—“I have a meeting scheduled for 1.00 pm, straight after your lunch break, and I need you to be there. You should be well versed in everything I need, shouldn’t you?”
She swallowed hard; her sense of self almost melted into a pool of guilt and shame, then she nodded: “Yes, yes, sir.”
“Now, go.”
“After you, sir.”
“Pardon?” Theo frowned and Taylor shuddered.
Clearly, she was getting off on the wrong foot. Even so, she didn’t dare make a move, not when she had proof in her personnel file that Theo Gianni had been declared dead. If he found out, she would not only lose her job, but she might well end up in prison, given just how prominent and powerful the Gianni family was.
Her boss’s eyebrows knitted deeply as he stepped forward; the strong scent of his cologne filled her senses in that all-too-familiar way that made her knees tremble. Arrogant or not, Theo Gianni was a handsome man, even in his cunning… more handsome than the Xavier she knew, and it stirred her insides in a strange way to have to admit it at the wrong moment.
“Is there any reason why you want me to leave first, Miss Hempstead? What are you hiding behind you?!”
"I—" she said, laughing nervously now, "Mr Gianni. Wh-what are you doing here?"
Theo frowned deeply as he glanced at his watch: "You were supposed to report to me an hour ago." His eyes swept around the room; his nose twitched at the smell of damp. “It seems I was right to say that you spend your time here. Is this what you’re paid for, Miss Hempstead?”
To be honest, it was only her second day and she wasn’t anywhere near getting paid any time soon. Even so, she swallowed hard and tried to defuse the situation as best she could: “The shredder wasn’t… it wasn’t very efficient, sir.”
“And you didn’t contact procurement because…”
“I didn’t know what to do.”
“So you chose laziness over returning to your post.”
She hung her head. “I’m sorry, sir.”
“Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”
“Very ashamed, sir.”
“You should be.”
“I know.”
She grimaced. It seemed that nothing she did could please him, almost as if her mere presence were irritating. How could a man who barely knew her hate her so much?
Even so, his resemblance to her wasn’t that important. She’d just stumbled upon some crucial information—information that could be detrimental to her job if he discovered what she had in her possession.
“Return to your desk, Miss Hempstead,” he said, glancing at his watch again—he seemed to do that frequently—“I have a meeting scheduled for 1.00 pm, straight after your lunch break, and I need you to be there. You should be well versed in everything I need, shouldn’t you?”
She swallowed hard; her very sense of self almost melted into a pool of guilt and shame, then she nodded: “Yes, yes, sir.”
“Now, go.”
“After you, sir.”
“Pardon?” Theo frowned and Taylor shuddered.
Clearly, she was getting on the wrong side of him. Even so, she didn’t dare make a move, not when she had proof in her personnel file that Theo Gianni had been declared dead. If he found out, she wouldn’t just lose her job; she’d probably end up in prison, given how prominent and powerful the Gianni family was.
Her boss’s eyebrows knitted deeply as he took a step forward; the strong scent of his cologne filled her senses in that all-too-familiar way that made her knees tremble. Arrogant or not, Theo Gianni was a handsome man in all his cunning… more handsome than the Xavier she knew, and it churned her insides in a strange way to have to admit it at the wrong moment.
“Is there any reason why you want me to leave first, Miss Hempstead? What are you hiding behind you?!”
She shook her head as he moved even closer, his intense blue eyes piercing her soul. This wasn’t the man she’d met yesterday, with his irises brimming with emotion and vigour… incalculable secrets she longed to uncover.
Who exactly was he?
And why did he make her feel so… ugghhhh?!
“I… I… I’m sorry.” Sha deftly dropped the file into the box and quickly turned to close it: “The paper was damp and probably full of pathogens. I didn’t want you to catch a load of my germs.”
“Is that so?”
She nodded frantically, hoping he’d believe her. For a man who’d been praised for his intellect, Theo Gianni seemed to believe all too readily the nonsense that came out of her mouth.
“Yes, sir.”
“Two minutes.” He adjusted his tie and turned away: “I’ll be waiting for you back in the office in two minutes.”
With that, he left, and she almost jumped to her feet out of sheer relief. She looked back at the box, knowing she couldn’t bring the file into the office without him knowing.
She would go back even if her job were on the line.
*********
"Hello!!" The shop assistant who’d asked if he was all right slipped straight into the empty seat next to Taylor, a few minutes into his lunch break.
She was pretty. Short, blonde, with piercing green eyes that looked like they’d come straight out of a cartoon. “I’m Anna.”
“Taylor,” Taylor replied, holding out his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Anna nodded and they fell silent, both eating their lunches: Taylor’s, a simple cabbage wrap, and Anna’s, seared salmon on a bed of pasta. It clearly put Taylor’s lunch to shame, but he wasn’t that hungry anyway; his mind was too confused to even eat.
“You look tired,” Anna remarked.
“I am tired,” Taylor shrugged. “It’s my second day here.”
Anna burst out laughing: “Believe me, you’ve lasted longer than most. It’s a miracle you haven’t been sacked yet.”
This rang in Taylor’s ears as he turned round: “What do you mean by that?”
Anna shrugged: “No one’s spent a single day with Mr Gianni in the last four months since he returned to the job.”
Taylor blinked, shifting in his chair as he leaned forward, “Sorry, did you say ‘since his return’?”
“Didn’t you know?” Anna asked with a mouthful of salmon: “Mr Gianni had been away from his company for the last year and a half. There were even rumours going round that he was dead or something. You’d think the owner of a multi-million empire would be around more, but no—he vanished and then came back just four months ago. He’s also as bad-tempered as ever.”
Taylor gasped.
A year and a half after his disappearance,
The file on the ‘deceased’
Four months since his return,
His striking resemblance to the man who ruined her life,
There was no longer any way to argue it. Xavier Johnson was Theo Gianni!
Oh, she was going to kill him!
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